A man was arrested Friday afternoon, Nov. 30, in connection with a home-invasion robbery after he crashed his vehicle into a palm tree while attempting to evade capture, Riverside police said.

The Riverside Police Departmentâs Metro, or SWAT team, was searching the unidentified manâs residence on Boxwood Place near Riverside City College about 8:30 p.m. Friday night. Police parked an armored vehicle and another Metro van on Boxwood.

Riverside police Lt. Bruce Blomdahl said his officers were watching the house earlier Friday when the man drove away. As the man drove, Blomdahl said, he threw a bag of marijuana out of the vehicle.

He was arrested without incident after he crashed near Third and Market streets in downtown Riverside about 2:30 p.m. Police pulled an assault rifle from the vehicle, Blomdahl said.

The home-invasion robbery happened in the Eastvale-Jurupa area, Blomdahl said. That area is patrolled by the Riverside County Sheriffâs Department, which did not immediately have information on the suspect or the case.

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